elsewhere with the ballot - exacerbating racial and ethnic politics even more - it also does nothing to contain the size of Congress. Absenting alien suffrage rights, Census Bureau arguments that it would be too costly or unfeasible to sift out aliens from the count are not enough considering the 1990 4 billion dollar cost subsidized primarily by Citizens. And there is hardly a tradition of permanency. The Bureau, the process, and the purpose have all changed radically over the years. Further, emotional arguments of intimidation or the "chilling" effect on alien minorities don't hold a candle to the fact that the inclusion of aliens in reapportionment unconstitutionally abridges Citizens' suffrage rights. Thus, US Citizens proposes the solution first considered by the adopters of the 14th Amendment and later in the 1920s an amendment to the Constitution requiring all "electors' to be Citizens and only "electors" counted for reapportionment - Now that all adult Citizens share suffrage rights exclusive of aliens and subsequent amendments and legislation have usurped state's rights to qualify their own "electors" - the reasons it was originally rejected no longer apply. " The Census Bureau could use voter registration lists, provided citizenship was confirmed. For a few years, Congress could be contained within its present numbers until another solution is found. And because all Citizens over 18 can now vote, representation would be denied only to a small percentage of Citizens, and enhanced for the majority. And, just as suffrage rights encourage naturalization in the 1910s, reapportionment rights would encourage naturalization far more credibly than reducing the five year residency requirement in place since 1802 to encourage assimilation, less of a problem then than it is today. Our founding fathers mutually pledged "Lives," "Fortunes," and "sacred Honor" to establish a democratic republic, and proved it throughout the Revolutionary War and with Article 1 of the Constitution. But as long as aliens are included in reapportionment giving them rights to representation with no vote, and rights to dilute votes without citizenship, the "one man, one vote" intent of the Framers means little, and privileges and immunities of citizenship even less. Thus, our system of self-government, the sine qua non of democracy, is in very grave peril. It is not now too late to act, but by the year 2000, it may be. The more representation allotted to alien numbers, the more resistance to change. The handwriting has been on the wall since 1865, but only since the abrogation of apportioned taxes and alien suffrage has there been Constitutional reasons to erase it. The "population = representation and taxes" design of the Framers is now not only no longer valid, it is completely contradicted by general revenue sharing. And vote dilution abridges Citizen suffrage privileges. This Congress must mutually pledge only "seats" to start erasing the handwriting by passing Thank you for your time and attention. UNITED STATES BORDER CONTROL Statement of Erich Pratt, Executive Director, U.S. Border Control, Submitted to the Subcommittee on Census and Population on August 1, 1989 U.S. Border Control welcomes the opportunity to testify as to whether the Census Bureau should count illegal aliens in the census. U.S. Border Control is a citizens' organization that seeks to encourage legal immigration, while at the same time, preventing illegal immigration. The Census Bureau should not include illegal aliens in the census totals. Besides encouraging even more illegal immigration, the counting of illegals would be unconstitutional and would dilute the votes of law-abiding citizens. states that fail to enforce federal immigration laws would be rewarded with more representation in Congress. The Constitutional Purpose of a Census Furthermore, When discussing whether the Census Bureau should count illegal aliens, one must first consider the two purposes for the census. In Roman times, the census was used as a means to count the people and evaluate their property for taxation. But in the United States, the census is used both to reapportion the Congress every ten years and to ensure that each Congressman represents the same number of people (Art. I, Sect. 2). (The census also was used to determine direct taxes, but this has been overruled by the 16th Amendment.) The relevant portion of Article I, Section 2 states, Representatives and direct taxes shall be appor ... tioned among the several states The ratio of one Congressman per 30,000 people is different today, but the principle remains the same. That is, every Congressman must represent the same number of people. This ensures that everyone's vote counts the same. The Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of equal voting power. Court declared: To say that a vote is worth more in one district than another would not only run counter to our fundamental ideas of democratic government, it would cast aside the principles of a House of Representatives elected by "the People," a principle tenaciously fought for and established at the Constitutional Convention. Therefore, the constitutional purpose for the census is not only to apportion the Congress, but to do so equitably. To give one person's vote more weight than another person's vote would violate this principle of fairness. The problem with counting illegals in the census is that it gives some voters more voting power than other voters. The census count affects the reapportionment and gives more seats in Congress to those states with larger illegal populations. Thus, voters in states with more illegals have a louder voice than voters in states with fewer illegals. But this should not be allowed. One must remember the purpose of a census. The census is not intended to simply find out the number of people living in the United States; rather, its primary, constitutional aim is to count the people for an equitable apportionment (Art. I, Sect. 2; 14th Amend., Sect. 2). It is unfair to allow the census to give certain citizens a louder voice in government - when the very purpose of the census is to achieve an equality of voting power. Rewarding States for Delinquency The purpose of the Census is to ensure equality and fairness. However, counting illegals in the census produces neither. Not only does it dilute the votes of many citizens, it rewards those states failing to enforce federal immigration laws with more seats in Congress. - After the 1990 census, California, Texas and Florida could gain 12 additional seats. These three states have among the largest illegal alien populations in the country in fact, they are in the top five. Of course, their location near the border makes them prime candidates to receive more illegal aliens than other states. But evidence is mounting that many localities are hardly lifting a finger to correct this problem. For example, Peter K. |